Youth crime crackdown labelled a failure

Labour's drive to target young criminals with 'tough' community punishments has been branded a failure as figures revealed seven out of 10 commit more crimes within a year.

The proportion of juvenile offenders who are locked up has more than halved since Tony Blair came to power, but at the same time the reoffending rate for those let off with non-custodial sentences has risen, with 70 per cent now caught offending again with 12 months.

The shocking Home Office statistics are a severe blow to Labour's strategy of using jail as a 'last resort' when trying to rehabilitate young offenders, and raises grave doubts over whether the range of new cheaper community sentences are working.

Probation officials warned last night that youngsters committing their first offences are largely ignored due to a lack of resources, and that serious efforts to turn them away from crime are only made when they are already set in their ways, by which time it is often too late.

In 1997 a total of 183,671 young offenders aged 10 to 17 were cautioned or convicted for crimes in England and Wales, while 7,083 - or 6.7 per cent - were sentenced to custody.

By 2004 the number cautioned or convicted had risen to 201,198, but the number locked up fell to 6,325 - just 3.1 per cent, while thousands more were given community sentences.

The total number of juvenile reoffenders who are caught leapt from 6,693 in 2000 to 9,516 in 2004.

Figures published by the Home Office yesterday analyse the number of offenders given different punishments who are caught reoffending within 12 months.

For those released from custody the figure was 78.2 per cent - meaning only one in five kept out of trouble for a year - slightly worse than the figure for 2000.

For community punishments the reoffending rate averaged 70 per cent, rising to 76 per cent for curfew orders, where offenders are tagged and forced to stay at home during certain hours.

For supervision orders, where young criminals are watched closely by probation staff and required to take part in activities such as repairing criminal damage, 73 per cent - almost three quarters - were caught committing more crimes within a year.

Of all those who reoffended after completing a community penalty, 70 per cent were given another community penalty, while only 14.5 per cent were locked up.

For those originally convicted of a violent offence, the reoffending rate rose to 38 per cent in 2004, up slightly from 37.5 per cent in 2000.

Critics point out that the rates are almost certainly a substantial underestimate, as police only detect a quarter of all crimes and only young criminals who get caught show up in the figures.

The statistics reveal a depressing picture of the 'revolving door' of criminal justice.

The more teenagers come into contact with the court system the more likely they are to offend again.

Those with seven previous convictions have an 80 per cent chance of reoffending, rising to 90 per cent for 12 or more convictions.

Community punishments for juveniles are far cheaper than custody.

A one-year Community Rehabilitation Order costs just £3,000, compared with £42,000 for a year in a Young Offenders' Institution.

But opposition critics claimed the cheaper punishments appeared to be failing.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, said: 'Those on community punishments should be less likely to re-offend since presumably they are less serious criminals. The fact they are continuing to re-offend represents a continuing failure by this Government.

'Community punishments could have a serious role to play but only if they are properly enforced. The Government needs to display urgent leadership and strategic management to equip the probation service to better deal with these offenders and to protect the public.'

Harry Fletcher of the National Association of Probation Officers called for more resources for earlier intervention when teenagers are first getting into trouble.

He said: 'Once young people get to the age of 14 or 15 their chances of reoffending get higher and higher.

'All the evidence shows we've got to turn them around much earlier.

'But there simply aren't the resources to do that. We are forever chasing our tails, and we only get involved once they are in trouble - which is why two thirds get involved in crime again.'

Mr Fletcher said most first-time young offenders let off with a police warning did not receive any follow-up intervention, even though that was the stage when support from youth justice workers could make the most difference.

He added: 'The main priority of the Youth Justice System is to try to rehabilitate youngsters outside prison - to keep them out of custody as long as possible.

'Once they are in a Young Offenders Institute their criminality tends to be confirmed, and reoffending rates are even higher.'

But he stressed that a 70 per cent reoffending rate could be seen as a success given the nature of the offenders in question - some of the 'most difficult teenagers in the country.'

The Home Office defended its strategy last night, claiming there was no 'quick fix' to youth crime.

A spokesman said: 'The Government believes in custodial sentences for the most serious and persistent offenders.

'However, in dealing with most juveniles custody should be a last resort which is why we have greatly strengthened the options available to the courts, police and youth services.'

'A range of complex factors drive young people towards offending including family problems, homelessness, mental health issues and exclusions from schools. The ability to change the behaviour of children and young people requires persistence and patience - there is no quick fix.'